Cigar vending machine



"Feb. 7, 1933. c. H. ECKMANN CIGAR VENDING MACHINE Filed April 25, 1931 '7 Sheets-Sheet l *TIWEJNTOR. Km

y j ATTORNEY.

' Feb. 7, 1933. c. H. ECKMANN CIGAR VENDING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 23, 1931 Feb. 7, 1933. c. H. ECKMANN CIGAR VENDING MACHINE Filed April 23, 1931 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

A TTORNE Y.

C. H. ECKMANN CIGAR VENDING MACHINE Feb. 7, 1933.

Filed April 23, 1931 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 W W %y IllllllI llllll lllul l C. H. ECKMANN CIGAR VENDING MACHINE Filed April 2:5, 1931 7 Sheets-Sheet 5- Feb. 7', 1933.

Feb. 7, 1933. c. H. ECKMANN CIGAR VENDING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Filed April 23, 1931 Patented Feb. 7, 1933 C H. MANN, OF .DE'IROI'I, MICHIGAN CIGAR VENDING Application flied April 28,

The object of my invention is to produce a vending'machine adapted for installation in public places where patrons may secure therefrom single cigars, or otherarticles of merchandise by inserting acoin therein.

Another object is to produce a cigar vend-' ing machine for receiving and retaining the original cigar box containers havingthe Government revenue stamp thereon and with the cigars as o'riginally'p'acked therein, for dispensing to the public one at a time by.

placing a coin within the machine and mov* ing the operating mechanism.

1 A further object is'to producea vending machine whereby difierent brands of cigars may be obtained by the patron, and at'will j ofthe operator. 7

These several objects are attained in the preferred form by the construction and arrangement of parts as is more after'set forth; 7

Similar parts on all drawings are marked by similar numerals and letters. Fig. 1 is a side view of the assembled vending machine showing the operating mechanism.

Fig. 2 is fully hereinthe-opposite side view of the assembled vending machine section showing the,

coin operating mechanism. 7 V I Fig. 3 is an edgeview of the assembled machine showing the relative position of the various compartments formed therein, as viewed from the front of the machine.

Fig. 4 is a view of the opposite edge, or

back side of the machine showing the ar-,

eralarrangement of the diflerent lines 'ofgeared mechanisms and the means for connecting the drive gear to each separately. 7

Fig. 7 is a'horizontal sectional view taken on the line 7 -7 of the Fig. 1 showing-the arrangement of the various-box compartments and the means for retaining the cigars within 1931., Serial No. 532,161.

relative positions of the operating. gearing leading to the different rotating dispensing cigar rolls. i

I will now describe more fully the detailed construction of my device, referring tov the drawings and the marks thereon. The frame 1 is preferably made of two fiat, rectangular metalsideplates 2 and 3, positioned parallel to each other and separated by corner separator bars at and 5, forming a rig1d,rectangular box framestructure: The frame 1 isdivided into an upper compartment a and a lower compartment I) by the two horizontal cross bars 6 and 7 positioned between the side plates 2 and 3 along opposite edges and near the bottom thereof, said cross bars 6 and 7 being positioned with their-top. edges at the same height and the bars being parallel with each other. The upper compartment a is further divided into the box compartments 0, d, and e by the vertical walls 7 8 extended from the cross bars 6 and 7 to the top corner separators 4, and positioned parallelbetween the side walls 2 and 3. The compartments 0, d ande being all uniform in size and suitable for receiving a combina- 86 tion container 9 and cigar box 10 therein, and which may be readily inserted within the frame 1 through the various side open ings leading into said compartments as shown in-the Fig. 3 of the drawings. Small slide bars 11 are fixedly attached to" the frame side plates 2and 3 and partition walls 8, positioned thereon between the cross bars 6 and 7 and flush with the tops thereof, suitable for receiving said box container 9 for sliding thereon when inserting said container with attachedcigar box into the various compartments 0, d and 6. At the bottom of each of the com artments 0, cl and e is mounted an open, tu ular cigar roll 12, rotatably mounted between the cross bars 6 and 7 by the end pivots 13 and 14 fixedly attached to the roll ends along the tubular roll axis and engag ing the bar bearings 15 and 16, said tubular- H cigarr'olls being open along the top sides I00 and positioned to coincide with the bottom opening 1" of the container section 9, for receiving one cigar 17 at a time therefrom. On the outer end of each pivot pin 14 is fixedly mounted a small pinion gear 18, all positioned along the outside of the back cross bar 7, each of said pinion gears 18 meshing with an idler gear 19 mounted on fixed pivots 20 directly beneath. Each of said idler gears 19 likewise engage a gear segment 21 as mounted on a stub shaft 22, also. positioned directlybeneatlnso that said gear centers for the respective sets of gears are positioned in vertical lines through the respective cigar roll pivots. The gear segments 21 are each formed with a collared hub 23 and provided with a coil spring 24 mounted thereon and attached to fixed posts 25 mounted in the cross bar 7, said springs being stressed to force all of said gear segments 21 to a side position for retaining the connected tubular cigar rolls with their open side upward and coinciding with the container opening 9. The gear segment stub shafts 22 are rotatably mounted through bearings 26 formed through the back cross bar 7, all positioned parallel to the axis of the tubular cigar rolls 12, and carry fixedly mounted on the inner ends thereof bevel gear segments 27, each of which meshes with a small bevel gear 28 rotatably and loosely mounted on a common shaft 29, said shaft 29 being positioned at right angles to said stub shafts 22 and is rotatably mounted in the frame side plates 2 and 3 through the bearings 30. Also on the shaft 29 are rotatably mounted spur gears 31, each spur gear being placed adjacent one of the small bevel gears 28 and fixedly attached thereto and rotatable therewith. Adjacent the shaft 29 and parallel thereto is mounted a drive shaft 32, also rotatably mounted in the frame side plates 2 and 3 through the bearings 33. Slidably mounted on the drive shaft 32 is a small drive pinion 34, splined to said shaft and free to slide thereon, said drive shaft 32 being positioned so that the splined pinion gear 34 may be moved thereon to engage and mesh with each of the spur gears. 31, for turnin each line of gearing leading to the respective tubular cigar rolls separately and independently of the others. On the outer end of the drive shaft 32 is fixedly mounted a small pinion gear 35 which meshes with a large spur drive gear 36, said gear 36 being fixedly mounted on the crank shaft 37. The crank shaft 37 is rotatably mounted in the frame side plates 2 and 3 through the wall bearings 38, said shaft being extended andbent at right angles for forming a crank arm 39, and which is provided with a suitable crank knob 40 at the outer end thereof. A return spring 41 is attached to the crank arm 39 and to a fixed pin 42 mounted near the edge of the side frame plate, said spring being stressed sufficiently for retainin the crank arm 39 in its initial position, an allowing said crank only a slight oscillating movement as indicated by the slot f formed in the casing 61 as shownby the dotted lines in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

Positioned near the drive shaft 32 and parallel thereto is a threaded indicator shaft 43, also rotatably mounted in the side wall plates 2 and 3 through suitable Wall bearings, said indicator shaft 43 carries fixedly mounted thereon a small pinion gear 44 at one end thereof, preferably outside of the side wall plate 2. The pinion gear 44 meshes with a large operating gear 45 which is pivotally mounted on the side of the wall plate 2 by the stud pivot 46 fixedly attached thereto. A demountable turning knob 47 is mounted on the side of the operating gear 45, preferably attached thereto by sliding ey means, said knob 47 providing means for rotating the operating gear 45 and the connected indicator shaft 43 in either direction. The indicator shaft 43 is preferably formed with both right and left hand threads 9 for ease in making adjustment in either direction, although a single thread will operate equally as Well. The shaft 43 carries mounted thereon a correspondingly threaded adjusting head 48 formed with the side arm h extended and formed for engaging the splined drive gear 34 in a manner for sliding said gear along the shaft 32 in either di rection for engaging the same with any one of the rotatably mounted spur gears 31, thus connecting the operating crank 39 and at tached gear 36 directly with any chosen line of gearing leading to the respective tubular cigar rolls 12. For ease in engaging the splined drive pinion gear 34 with the various spur gears 31, the teeth, in all cases, should be formed with sharp wedge shaped ends to enable them to easily mesh together in any position. An indicator. arm 49, formed with a suitable pointer end 50, is fixedly'mounted on the adjuster head 48 and extended to position the pointer 50 over the box compartments 0, d, or e, and adjusted to the respective indicator lines thereon, when the line of gearing for the corresponding compartment is connected by the splined drive pinion gear 34, to the operating crank mechanism, thus indicating the operating mechanism will deliver a cigar from the compartment container over which the arrow rests.

A cigar slide 51 is fixedly mounted between the frame side walls 2 and 3, positioned near the tubular cigar rolls 12 at the back side of the frame, and sloped downward toward the front casing edge, and preferably formed with a curved end stop 7c projected outside the edges of the frame plates.

On the outer end of the crank shaft 37,

opposite to thedrive gear 36 fixedly mounted. a circular lock disc 52, formed with a lock tooth m and astop point p along the circumference, said stop point 12 being positionedto engage a stop pin 53 fixedly mounted in the sidewall plate 3, for 1imiting the crank stroke in one direction, also for engaging a lock bar 54 which is pivotally mounted on the sideplate 3 by the pivot pin 55, for limiting the crank stroke in the opposite direction, and likewise limiting the r0- tation of any ofthe connected tubular cigar tooth engagement is maintained by the weight t attached to the outer end of the lock bar. The opposite end of the lock bar 54 is extended downward and engages the lower slotted end of the coin chute 56 also attached fixedly to the side plate 3 as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the lower ends of both the lock bar and coin chute being positioned over a circular coin opening 1; formed through the wall plate 3, said hole '11 being positioned so that any coin 57 as may be dropped in the coin chute 56, when said lock bar 54 is depressed to its lowest position, will fall out through the wall opening v into a coin box 58 placed in the bottom of the frame 1. The weight ofthe coin 57 is just sufficient to depress the lock bar 54 for disconnecting the lockteeth m and s, and allow the rotation of the crank shaft 37, and

said lock bar is further depressed by the en-.

gagement of the stop point p on the edge of the lock disc 52 at the end of the crank stroke, and which further depresses said lock bar suiliciently for discharging the coin 57 from the chute '56. To assist in instantly ejecting the coin 57 from the coin chute as the lockbar is forced down, a spring punch wire'59 is fixedly mounted on the side plate 3, with one end thereof projected through a wall hole w formed through the'coin chute, and positioned opposite the coin opening '12. The punch wire 59 is engaged and depressed by the arm-z fixedly attached to the lock bar side.

The cigar containers 9 as are inserted in the box compartments 0, d, and e, are preferably made of a thin sheet metal plate, formed with a flat side 1 and two edge walls n, open I at both ends and on one side. the one side wall 1 being extended to receive a small cigar box 10 thereon, of the same size and dimensions as the container 9, and retained thereon with adjacent ends together by the end clip 0, the cigar box cover and end adjacent the container 9 being removed before inserting the box therein. The combined cigar box and container forms an elongated cigar receptacle just twice the length of the original cigar box, so that'the-top layer of cigars as originally-packed therein may be displaced sidewise from the box 10 into the container section 9, forming a'single line of cigars to be fed into. the tubular cigar rolls '5 one at a time. A cover section 60 is pressed over the open side of the combination box and container sections, and attached thereto by any suitable means, either by a pressed fit, or by the pins in slots 9 as indicated in the drawings. Both the cover and the container are designed to retain a single line of cigars throughout both the box and the container sections to the bottom container opening 1", and which opening is positioned directly over the open side of the tubular cigar rolls 12. To facilitate entering the containers 9 into the respectivebox compartments c, d, and 6, small retainer clips u are pivot ally mounted on the shaft '1; at the lower end of the cover 60, andmay be turned beneath the container opening 1' by the attached arm 2, and left in that position until the containers are inserted in their respective compartments when said clips u may be pivoted. to 4 one side, allowing the cigars to fall into their respectlve clgar rolls. I

The comb:nat1on cigar boxiand container is made necessary to preserve and expose the Government revenue stamp placed thereon andfor complying with the regulations for dispensing cigars. Along each edge wall n is formed a narrow slot z', to disclose visibly the contents of each compartment and. to inform the patron when the compartments are empty. However, any type of box container that will retain the cigars in a single line over the cigar rolls,.will operate equally as we 1.

The assembled device may be mounted inside any suitable case 61 as indicated in the drawings by the dotted casing lines, and it is preferred that the casing be provided with a front glass paneled door positioned. over the front edge shown in Fig. 3 to facilitate inserting the box containers therein, and to expose the edges of said boxes and containers, and the compartment indicator 50. It

also is necessary to provide openings through said casing 61 for projecting the operating knobs 40 and 47, and likewise for the projecting cigar chute 51 and coin chute 56. The

of cigars, then by dropping a coin 57 into the coin chute 56, the locking mechanism will be opened sufficiently for allowing the operating crank 39 to be turned, and after setting the indicator point 50 over the compartment containing the chosen cigars, the lever 39 is moved forward by the attached knob 40, causing the mechanism connected with the tubular cigar roll beneath the chosen compartment to operate and deliver a cigar therefrom into the cigar slide 51, there obtainable by the operator. The coin deposited is dropped in the coin box 58, and the lock bar automatically locks the operating mechanism as the operating crank 39 is returned to its initial position.

WVhile I have shown and described my vending machine as applicable to cigars, it is to be understood that it may also be applied to dispensing any other kind of goods as may be suitable for engaging in hollow pivoted'rolls 12, and that the device is sub ject to various modifications inboth details and designs without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I claim as my invention the vending machine as herein shown and any other design that is substantially a substitution of parts shown therein.

Having fully described my cigar vending machine, what I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A vending machine adapted for dispensing goods from separated compartments, comprising a rigid frame having a series of vertically positioned adjacent merchandise compartments formed in the upper portion thereof and a dispensing chamber formed 1n the lower portion thereof, a hollow dispensing member open at the top side, pivotally mounted in said frame beneath each of said compartments, each dispensing member being designed and positioned to receive one article of merchandise from its respective compartment, a separate line of geared mechanism for each of said dispensing members and connected thereto for causing a partial rotation of any chosen dispensing member about its supporting pivots, capable 0f-depositing a single article of merchandise in the lower dispensing chamber, operating mechanism mounted on said frame capable of adjustment for engaging any chosen line of gearing leading to the respective dispensing m-en'ibers for operating same independently of the others.

2. A vending machine adapted for dis pensing goods from separated compartments, comprising a rigid frame formed with a series of parallel, vertically positioned, open merchandise compartments in the upper portion thereof, and provided with a common dispensing chamber beneath said compartments, a hollow dispensing roll open along the top side, pivotally mounted beneath each of said open compartments, said dispensing rolls being designed to receive a single article of merchandise therein from its respective compartments, a separate line of geared mechanism mounted on saidframe for each of said dispensing rolls and connected thereto for causing a partial rotation of the dispensing roll about its supporting pivots, independently of the others for depositing a single article of merchandise therefrom into the lower dispensing chamber, operating mechanism mounted on said frame capable of adjustment for engaging and operating any one of the lines of gearin independently from the others, means mounted thereon for making the chosen adjustment of the said operating mechanism to thedifferent lines of gearings.

3. A vending machine adapted for dispensing goods from separated compartments, comprising a rigid frame formed with a series of parallel, vertically positioned open merchandise compartments in the upper portion thereof, a common merchandise dispensing chamber formed beneath the said compartments, each of said compartments being formed with an open end merchandise container designed for holding a single line of merchandise in a vertical position therein and capable of discharging only one article at a time from the open bottom end thereof, a hollow dispensing roll with open top pivotally mounted beneath each of said open compartments and positioned with the open tops to coincide with the bottom openin gs of the respective compartment containcrs, a separate line of geared mechanism mounted on said frame for each of the dispensing rolls and connected thereto in a manner for causing a partial rotation thereof independently of the others, means mounted thereon for retaining the Various dispensing rolls and connected gearings in their initial positions and with the roll openings at the top side thereof, operating mechanism mounted on said frame capable of adjustment for engaging and operating any chosen line of gearing leading to the respective dispensing rolls for causing a partial rotation thereof about its supporting pivots for depositing one article of merchandise as may be contained within said roll into the lower dispensing chamber, adjusting mechanism mounted on said frame and connected to said operating mechanism in a manner for making the connection thereof with any chosen line of gearing, an indicator mounted on said adjusting mechanism and positioned to designate the compartment with which the op erating mechanism is connected.

In witness whereof I sign these specifications,

CHARLES H. ECKMANN. 

